Congress slams EC for inaction on MCC violations; Gifts a copy of Constitution to CEC

Congress slams EC for inaction on MCC violations; Gifts a copy of Constitution to CEC

Hyderabad, April 7: The Congress party has sent a copy of Constitution of India as a gift to election authorities asking them to show some respect towards it and implement the Model Code of Conduct in Telangana State.



Irked over inaction against the ruling TRS leaders, especially Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, over repeated violation of MCC, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Official Spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin adopted a novel way of sending the election authorities a strong message. He has sent as a gift a copy of Constitution of India and the pictures of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar and Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi. He also attached a small note, "Our Constitution of India and the pictures of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is a small gift from a common man. Hope these valuable things will keep reminding us about our duties towards the Constitution and our country."



Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, Nizamuddin alleged that the Election Commission of India was not performing its duties in an unbiased manner. He said Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi and two other senior IAS officers, along with other officials, released a book on 'Bangaru Telangana' on April 5, just 6 days before the polling, in open violation of Model Code of Conduct. However, he said that the Election Commission did not take any action against him despite Congress party lodging a complaint. He pointed out that the ECI removed the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh without any complaint. But in Telangana, it adopted a different policy in open violation of the Constitution, he alleged.



Nizamuddin feared that the Election Commission might lose its credibility as it was getting more and more inclined towards the ruling TRS. He raised apprehensions over the conduct of Lok Sabha elections in Telangana in a free and fair manner. He said election authorities should be unbiased and neutral. Else, he feared that people would lose faith in the institution which would be a dangerous sign for democracy. "All of us are surviving in this country due to our Constitution which gave rights of equality, freedom of speech and other powers. We can proudly say that we are a free nation because of this Constitution," he said.



The TPCC Spokesperson said that the Constitution has cleared defined the roles to be played by the electoral authorities. "While all citizens are bound to follow the Constitution, the All India Services (AIS) officers have greater responsibilities as they have taken an oath to follow and implement this Constitution in a fair manner. For the same reasons, we've sent them the copies of Constitution of India to remind them about their duties. We tried all means and gave many representations over violations of MCC. But the EC appears to be in no mood to take stern action against the ruling party leaders," he said.



'Pink balloon will burst soon'



Commenting on joining of former minister Mandava Venkateshwara Reddy into TRS, the Congress leader said that KCR has once again proved that he was too weak to win the Lok Sabha elections. "TRS is now having the support of about 100 MLAs and over 35 MLCs. It has ruled Telangana for 5 years and it is still power. However, by visiting the house of former TDP leader Mandava Venkateshwar Rao in Nizamabad, KCR has proved that his claims of winning 16 Lok Sabha seats were hollow. "Is it not strange that a power CM who wants to become PM begged before a former minister to make his daughter retain her MP seat?" he asked.



Nizamuddin described TRS party as a large pink balloon which is getting fatter each day due to the joining of leaders from different parties. A day will come soon when this fat pink balloon will burst into pieces due to overcrowding, he remarked. (Ends)